


Promise

by baeksbabygirl



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Infidelity, M/M, Spirited Away AU, Spirits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 14:59:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11382579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeksbabygirl/pseuds/baeksbabygirl
Summary: After finding his boyfriend cheating on him with his best friend, Jongin runs deep into the forest only to find a temple that leads into the Spirit Realm. While there, Jongin learns a little about himself and the world.





	Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt # 10044
> 
> A/N: Ahh I’m finally done! This fic took me way longer than necessary, but I truly hope that whoever reads it enjoys it and the AU as a whole. If you haven’t watched Spirited Away yet, I highly suggest that you do, and if you have already watched it and are expecting this to be a mirror image of it, I’m sorry to disappoint but there are plenty of differences (though also plenty of similarities as well!). Anyway, thank you to the mods for being patient with me as I finished writing this, and also thank you to K for bouncing ideas with me for the ending of the fic! Thank you all <3

 

Jongin had been excited at first – to go along with his friends and boyfriend to an island off the coast, all to spend a week or so in solitude and on vacation, enjoying one another’s company.

But he had only felt that excitement briefly, especially as when the ferry docked on the island’s private dock, and he had stepped out, his friends had nearly abandoned him. Having grabbed their own luggage already, or having left it for the staff that his boyfriend’s parents had hired, they were all now several feet away as he tried to help the staff with the few items of his that he had taken aboard for the week. Thanking them and sighing as he went to catch up with his friends, he could only hope that the rest of the week was not going to be like this.

He was wrong…

Upon catching up with his friends and boyfriend, he noticed how close his best friend Baekhyun had grown to Kris, Jongin’s boyfriend. The two had hated each other at first, so instinctually, Jongin appreciated the fact that they were beginning to get along now. It was much better than the alternative that he had imagined – of the two never getting along whatsoever and hating each other throughout Jongin’s relationship with Kris.

However, looking at them laughing and smiling at each other now, he even felt a little jealous. How had they become so close, and when?

Following close behind them, Kris was lackluster in his attempts to include Jongin. It hadn’t always been like that. In fact, when the two had first started dating, the other man had been attentive, and had spoiled him a little bit. Of course, he supposed inviting him and a good majority of his friends to a private cottage as a vacation was a bit of spoiling him as well, but…Kris was different these days and Jongin couldn’t place his finger on exactly what it was.

“Jongin you have such long legs, why are you all the way back there?” one of his friends – Jongdae – asked. He only shrugged before trying to catch up once more, only driving the others further away into the semi-wooded path before them.

Trying to catch his breath as he carried his own belongings, he asked Kris, only a foot or two away, if they were close to there destination yet. Thankfully, he didn’t get the bitten response he had expected. Kris even smiled back at him.

He missed that smile. Why was it that he missed his boyfriend’s smile when he was right there in front of him? The two were still dating, it was not as if they had broken up or had any animosity towards the other. At least, not on Jongin’s end. Jongin had admitted to himself a while ago that he was actually in love with Kris, though he hadn’t worked up the nerve to say it yet. The two had been dating for possibly a little over a year now, and in all that time, Jongin had never said he loved the other man.

He vowed to say it sometime this week – he would work the courage up to say it, he promised himself.

“We’ll be there shortly, it’s really just up and over the bend here. On the very corner, closest to the trees with the best view of the mountains on the other islands nearby.” Kris grinned and then nudged Baekhyun beside him, “Make sure you don’t fall off, Baek.”

Jongin’s best friend scowled, but then grinned wide as he shook his head and nudged Kris right back. Jongin wasn’t really sure what to make of the exchange, but was glad that Kris also made sure to turn back and go to him, walking with him the rest of the way as Baekhyun rushed forward and decided to start walking between Jongdae and Chanyeol up further.

The rest of the walk towards the solitary cottage was quiet, but nice.

When they arrived in front of the cottage, Jongin could not believe his eyes. It was much larger than he had originally expected. And he knew that Kris’ family had money, so of course their vacation home would be just as luxorious as the apartment Kris stayed in back home, or just as beautiful as his boyfriend’s parents house within the country that spoke of money and power. Kris’ parents were both top dollar figured in society, and how Jongin had started dating Kris to begin with, he wasn’t quite sure.

But he loved him, and the money didn’t matter to him.

Stepping into the cottage, the inside was even more grande than the outside. High ceilings and rose-colored wood that gleamed from the natural light the open windows allowed in. It was absolutely gorgeous, and he certainly wasn’t the only one to think so. The cherry wood looked almost brand new, or like it had just been polished. The staircase leading up to the rooms upstairs almost looked like it should have belonged to a billionaire’s home. The kitchen looked fully stocked with all the food they could possibly need or want for the week, and Kris even mentioned that there were a few small restaurants and bars just a few minutes walk from the cottage. He said that they were all family owned, and that the families that either rented or also owned vacation homes up here enjoyed when new people came to visit.

Kris even promised to take them all over there for dinner that night so they could see what he was talking about.

The voices died down eventually, while Jongin’s other friends called dibbed on certain rooms – though there were plenty to spare – and that was when Kris came up to him when they were finally alone and wrapped Jongin in his arms, chin resting lightly on his shoulder as he nibbled on his ear, causing Jongin to shiver from the sensation. He smiled though, because he liked the intimacy.

He had never said he loved Kris – but he showed him that he loved him. That mattered, right?

“You want to try to find a room?” Kris asked, voice low and husky as he said the words. Jongin’s reply caught in his throat, wanting to say yes, but also unsure of where finding a room would lead them for the next hour or so. He wanted to find out, but another part of him was hesitant, if only because his friends were also in the cottage and they could come in or call for the two of them at any time. Kris seemed to catch onto his hesitance, and chuckled softly in his ear, “The doors all have locks on them.” He promised, and then without another word, he pulled Jongin along to find the perfect room together…

 

Kris had been right about the locks on the doors, and that hadn’t stopped the two of them from getting undressed and “breaking in” the newly made bed. Kris had promised no one would hear them, promising that it was only the two of them that mattered, anyway. He kept saying how he just wanted to feel Jongin again, as they hadn’t been together in what seemed like so long.

Of course, Jongin could only agree, words having been lost as Kris started to prepare him –

Jongin’s thoughts were interrupted from where they had been straying when, after showering after the fact, there was a knock on the door. Kris had taken a bit longer in the shower than he had, so his boyfriend was still in the other room when Jongin slipped on a pair of shorts, still bare-chested, to open the door to whoever had come knocking.

Jongin came face to face with Baekhyun, who seemed shocked that he was the one who had answered the door.

“Oh, Jongin!” he rubbed at the back of his neck, “I was just about to ask Kris when he thought was a good time to head down to grab a bite to eat.” Jongin didn’t see anything wrong with Baekhyun’s words at first, but he would soon learn exactly what was going on.

For now, he simply smiled softly and told his best friend that his boyfriend was still in the shower.

“He should be out in a few minutes…we’ll come down stairs when we’re ready.” But even Baekhyun hesitated, like he wanted to wait there for Kris, to hear it from him now. Whether it pertained to the food or something else. Jongin raised an eyebrow before Baekhyun finally said something.

Clearing his throat, he nodded hurriedly, “Yeah, yeah, okay! I’ll wait downstairs then.” And again he was there rubbing at the back of his neck – a nervous habit – before he nodded, turning to leave. Confused, but not completely perturbed, Jongin closed the door behind Baekhyun and finished getting dressed.

 

Kris took them all to dinner that night, promising that it was his treat, and also promising that the food they ordered would be delicious no matter what they all got.

He had not been wrong.

And it seemed that for the next few days, it continued like it had the first day. Delicious food, and secluded intimacy between the two of them behind closed doors. Only, it was much different in front of everyone else. Jongin wondered if Kris was being like this because they were supposed to be on vacation as a group of friends, rather than as a couple, or if there really was something going on with him that he hadn’t gotten to the bottom of, or just didn’t understand yet.

On the third night, he found out exactly what was going on.

Having just gotten back from a walk around the trails with Jongdae, Jongin waved and told his friend he would catch up with everyone else at dinner, saying that he wanted to spend some time with Kris. Jongdae seemed hesitant to let him go up the stairs at first, which he thought was odd and unnecessary, but Jongdae seemed rather urgent in his request for Jongin to join him and Chanyeol to play games in the other room.

“C’mon Jongin, you two spend all night together. Chanyeol and I feel like you never see us anymore.” And Jongdae nudged him, trying to drag him to the game center in the basement where Chanyeol could be heard crying out, frustrated, at one of the games he was playing. Jongin may have been tempted on another day, but he really did want to spend time with Kris.

After all, Kris was his boyfriend, and this vacation had originally been meant for just the two of them.

“Really, I’m good, Dae.” And he smiled before catching Jongdae’s cautious expression, like something was wrong. Jongin raised an eyebrow at him before he heard a crash up the stairs and then laughter that he recognized. But why was Baekhyun upstairs, and what had fallen over? Now he was beyond curious, and he wouldn’t let Jongdae stop him from going to investigate.

His friend shook his head before he went off upstairs, a whispered, “You won’t like what you find.” Under his breath…

Not even stopping to knock on the door when he gets to the room he had been sharing with his boyfriend, Jongin wasn’t exactly sure what he expected to find, but it certainly wasn’t the scene in front of him.

His best friend – and person he’d known the longest out of everyone in the island cottage – was standing behind his boyfriend with his clothes strewn in pieces across the floor. Baekhyun’s back was to Jongin, and though he could see absolutely everything, his eyes were more on Kris, the one bent over with his lips parted, a moan escaping him as his eyes close in both concentration and ecstasy. Jongin stopped dead in the doorway, eyes going wide before the two half turned their bodies to see him standing there.

They had clearly not meant for anyone to see them, and clearly had meant to lock the door.

Especially when the two scrambled to draw up clothes, his cheating boyfriend fumbling and swearing before he was yelling for Jongin to shut the door behind him. The door, obviously still wide open, remained the same as he stood there in complete and utter shock, unsure what to do or say or think. He just stood there.

Kris yelled again, “Shut the damn door, Jongin!” he yelled, loud enough for probably even Chanyeol and Jongdae to hear in the basement where they were playing games.

Jongin didn’t bother closing the door as he turned to go, expression empty as he just left them as they were. Not one of them made a move to follow after him. In fact, Baekhyun only moved to apologize to Kris, his voice fading as Jongin rushed down the stairs. But he could hear the apology nevertheless – Baekhyun’s “I’m sorry, Kris, I thought I locked the door.”

And then Jongin’s boyfriend – no, ex-boyfriend – huffed and told Baekhyun that he had screwed everything up…

 

He wasn’t sure how long he had been walking for, but he didn’t really care. Just as long as he was away from that house.

And maybe he had reacted poorly, or too rash, but what else could he have said or done upon walking into that mess? He hadn’t realized that things were bad, or that his best friend and his boyfriend were going behind his back and sleeping together. The way Baekhyun’s laughter had sounded before Jongin had gone upstairs…this definitely was not the last time. The fact that Baekhyun had apologized to Kris rather than running after his best friend to apologize for sleeping with his boyfriend when they were still together…

The whole thing had caught him off guard and only made him see red when he thought more about it.

The air around him was thick, warm against his skin. It was clear that he was in some sort of tropical, island paradise but he couldn’t feel it, not really. This was no longer a paradise and he didn’t truly care if he got lost anymore. Not when they were on this island all by themselves. It wasn’t like he could really get lost, unable to find his way the next morning. Maybe it would be better if he stayed in the forest, roaming around for a few hours. Maybe it would give Baekhyun and Kris enough time to actually understand what they had done and feel bad enough about it that they would actually apologize to him about it.

Not that it would make a difference, Jongin was not going to waste his time in going back to someone that cheated on him. Especially not someone that had cheated on him with his best friend…

He wasn’t sure how long he had been walking for, but he was following the faint moonlight above his head, watching as it gleamed through the tree canopy. As he continued walking, he almost felt like the forest was either pulling him further in, or leading him somewhere special.

The feeling only got stronger when he stumbled through another cropping of brush, pushing through the branches and cursing under his breath as he legitimately stumbled on what was beneath his feet, looking down at the ground with a scowl as he stood up afterwards.

Looking up though, the expression fell from his face as he gasped in awe.

An old temple stood before him, hidden amongst the forest’s branches and bushes, surrounded by vines and small animals that hid from him as he stepped closer to the low hanging entrance of the old temple. Like the moon, it seemed to give off a certain type of glow, and maybe Jongin was just being hopeful, but he could have sworn there was something special about the small place.

There was also an odd light from within the temple that only made Jongin more curious as to what lied within. Something this far off from the main street lights, or even the docking bay shouldn’t have such a light form within, unless there was someone inside or there had been candles left on without anyone realizing it. He could have imagined the second portion of that thought, and so he stepped inside without looking back, curiosity striking him more than self preservation.

Inside the temple was even more beautiful than the outside. But it did strike something deep in Jongin’s heart as he looked around. Beautiful though it was, he wasn’t sure he wanted to stay here much longer than just to glance around for a minute or so. There were indeed candles lit at the central alter, but they looked as if they had been burning for days – and even though he could clearly see the melted wax falling from the candles, they didn’t look like they had shrunk or gotten smaller. There had to be some sort of explanation for such a thing.

Across the temple, on the opposite end of the wall from the alter, were figurines that stared at him with their glass eyes. Just glancing at them had a shiver running down his spine. It was clear that this was a very old temple, with its dilapidated alter and torn dolls. There were cloth drapes hanging above the alter, stains marring the colors into faded stripes.

But the overall temple was quite beautiful – despite the strange and almost fearsome objects lying around. The stone beneath his feet had such pretty striations throughout, with the stone was a soft grey and the patterns flowing and ebbing between the stones a dark, almost black. It was stark against the ceilings and pillars surrounding him – with paintings hanging on each wall that almost looked like they were supposed to be depicting a story. On the ceiling of the domed temple there was also a story depicted in a much finer medium, as if someone had not just painted it, but poured their life blood into it.

It was a terrifying image he left himself with, but it was also beautiful in its horror.

Jongin decided he had had enough of the temple for the night, having calmed down much more than he thought he would from the event previous. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, rubbing at his eyes next as he stepped through the temple. Jongin was careful not to get too close to the alter, or the small dolls propped up on the opposite wall, gods only knew what that would cause.

But what he had imagined seeing when he stepped out of that temple flew out the window as soon as his feet landed outside the threshold. It wasn't the same forest that he had just been in, and he could no longer recognize anything around himself. Going back, trying to step back into the temple had him turning around with wide eyes and not seeing anything close by.

What the hell had just happened?

The temple that had been near inches from him was now several hundred feet away from him, with flying animals coming up from the trees surrounding the columns. Jongin didn't know where he was, but wasn't liking this one bit.

This couldn't be a dream either, because he knew he left the luxury cabin - storming out of that place - to go running into the densely packed woods. But then stepping into that temple had caused something to happen, and he wasn't completely sure what that was, other than that it had to be some sort of illusion.

Maybe if he walked forward, or far enough away of the temple, it would propel him backwards towards where the illusion had started.

After all, he wasn't going crazy. He couldn't be...

 

Jongin got further and further away from the temple, but it still didn't help anything. There was a low field before him that he tried hard not to fall between while he was walking down its hill. Careful steps, with his eyes looking at what his feet were doing rather than what was directly in front of him. Before long he had come to an abandoned town at the end of the hill, which opened up into what looked like shops and restaurants where people could sit outside.

It was completely abandoned, but maybe that was more coincidence than anything else. There had to be someone around here that knew where he was, and how to get back to where he had come from. From where he stood, Jongin could still see the temple, with those things still flying above it as if they were protectors of whatever odd universe he had just catapulted himself into.

Walking further, and now into the abandoned town he had come across, his eyes took in everything around him. There was one place out of the many that did not look as abandoned - or at least, there was a full tray load of food just sitting there on one of the counters, begging for him to take a bite of the chicken and rice and tons of other delicious food that he didn't even have a name for.

He would have reached out to touch it too, if it weren't for the loud bang across the place and a seeping, sinking feeling that something wrong was going on here. Jongin went to move forward only to trip up on his own feet and look up startled, only to find a dragon-like creature staring at him from across the way, at the edge of the town and towards the large city beyond.

Jongin scrambled up from where he was, hurrying in the other direction, only to get turned around. He was being followed he knew. But then, before he was able to register anything else, a shadow popped up out of nowhere, followed by ten others before he was completely surrounded by them.

There was an odd, rushing sensation then - wind propelling him up and out of the way of those shadows. He was soaring for a moment in time before he was suddenly falling, and letting out a hard scream that blew back into his throat against the hard wind pushing against him.

When Jongin landed, knees scraping hard against the plush grass, he groaned from the impact. He wasn't sure what had gotten him out of there, or how he had actually landed from such an impact with all his pieces still intact, but he felt like crying because he didn't know where he was or how to get back home. He may have wanted to get away from Kris and Baekhyun, and really everyone in that house who had anything to do with that, but he hadn't meant or wanted to leave the island as a whole - nor travel to a dimension or time that was clearly not his own.

Everything surrounding his was old-fashioned, just like that temple he had stumbled upon. The abandoned town, with the delicious-looking food, and then the shadow people that had looked more like large blobs than really any form of being that Jongin could recognize. And then that dragon that had been staring at him with those large silver eyes and mane, horns peeking up from the top of its head while it continued to stare him down.

Jongin shivered at the thought, but then he turned back around when he heard a sigh and he nearly screamed. Someone had followed him - or it had been the person who had saved him from those shadow-people.

"Shush!" the other boy yell-whispered, closing in on him and slamming his hand down on his mouth before Jongin could say another thing. The boy pulled him sideways and then looked up into the sky when they were half hidden in the brush and leaves. There was a building not far away from them, and then a bridge that lead into that bright place that Jongin had originally thought was a city. It was one lone building, with the lights turned up high, and people passing over the bridge talking loud and in languages that Jongin did not know. The sounds of them gave him a headache, but this whole place was going to give him an aneurysm.

The boy behind him pointed up to the sky.

"Do you see that thing flying around?" and Jongin glanced up to see the beast the boy was talking about. It looked like a massive bird, but then he saw the human like head atop it, and had a feeling that it wasn't a bird at all. "That is Yubaba. She is the witch of the bathhouse that you see there. She controls this area of the spirit world." the words the boy were saying sounded foreign to Jongin though he could understand clearly and perfectly. Witch? Spirit World? Despite the fact that he knew what those words meant, he couldn't understand how he had ended up in such a place.

"H-how did I... I don't understand why I'm here. I want to go back home." and maybe he sounded a little whiny about it, and he certainly didn't know this other boy well enough to ask such a favor, but he did anyway, "Please, just take me home."

But the other boy only frowned, looking back up into the sky as they both watched the bird-witch move past where they were hiding and touch down on one of the top floors in the bathhouse. Jongin did not want to go anywhere close to where that thing was headed, even if the bathhouse seemed to be calling his name.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t take you home, not yet. The temple you came through, it’s a one time entrance every few days, the next time it opens will be three days from now.” He paused, glancing up at the sky again only to go rigid, mind humming as he looked up. “But you can’t wait out here for three days until it opens again, it simply isn’t safe. I know somewhere you can go, but you have to cross that bridge.” And the boy beside him pointed at the colorful bridge, which was lit with red lanterns. There were all these odd spirits crossing, some shaped like frogs while others just looked like globs of glue and sticks or huge deposits of organic matter. Jongin shuddered just thinking about crossing that bridge. He begged for the stranger to think of some other way, but he scowled and became serious. “No, this is your only option right now.” He stated.

Jongin contemplated ditching the boy that had saved him, but he also didn’t think that was an option if he was going to be kept safe. He already had an odd sparking feeling in his stomach that told him this entire thing was bad, bad, bad – let alone the idea of staying there in Spirit Square, or traveling back down that hill and waiting the three days before that temple opened back up to his own dimension.

“Fine. Tell me what I have to do.”

 

The boy – Sehun, he learned his name was – told him exactly what he needed to do before crossing that bridge full of spirits. First, he needed to eat something from this realm lest he disappear as soon as he crossed the bridge, and second he needed a spell placed on him so that the spirits did not sense or smell him. Humans weren’t allowed in the spirit realm and if even just one of them caught a whiff of Jongin, he was going to be in deep trouble. So he obliged, ate the berry and held his breath as they stepped closer to the bridge, no one paying them any attention until they actually stepped up onto the wooden platform before them.

Spirits crowded the area, their voices changing and some spirits becoming more visible the more Jongin held onto Sehun’s arm, holding close to the boy that looked almost-human, but Jongin knew had to be some sort of benevolent spirit. He wasn’t sure why the boy was helping him, but it was much better than waiting around in Spirit Square on his own for the next three days.

Almost towards the end of the bridge, there were spirits that got far too close for comfort, and Jongin found it increasingly harder to hold his breath the longer they went. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold it in for without failing at this. No more than a few seconds later and one of the spirits from the other side of the bridge crossed to meet them, without letting them cross over first.

“Master Oh!” the spirit said, bouncing up before Sehun and Jongin excitedly. The spirit’s voice bounced up and down as he did, voice perpetually getting higher and continuing on as he spoke, words merging together until Jongin could not understand what he was saying anymore. He couldn’t hold his breath any longer, if he could just urge Sehun to _move_.

It was too late for that though, as Jongin took a breath that his body was aching for. The spirit before them yelled, “Human!” before Sehun was able to pull both of them through, everyone around them freaking out and watching as Sehun sprinted with Jongin at his side through the rest of the bridge and down to the left, hiding a few meters away in the bushes that spun along the side of the bathhouse.

“Sehun, I’m so sorry, I just couldn’t…” but the boy shook his head.

“No, no you did absolutely nothing wrong. We should have been able to get through there if it weren’t for that.” Sehun shook his head and then glanced around, people shouting his name over and over again as “Master Oh!”, as if they were chickens with their heads cut off. Sehun sighed, “Yubaba will be wanting to see me because of this commotion, I’m sure of it. Listen to what I’m about to say, very carefully.” And as he said the words, Sehun pressed two fingers to Jongin’s forehead and gave him strict instructions.

Telling him to go down the side stairs of the bathhouse, he told him there was a path that leads into the basement and boiler room of the bathhouse where a man stroked the fires. He was to see the boiler man and ask for a job. Sehun told him that it would be hard work, but that he would do it until Sehun could come and get him. He could not promise that it was going to be the next three days, before the temple opened again, but the next time he did come to see him, it would be to return him home.

Jongin wasn’t entirely sure he could believe Sehun yet, but he was also being kind to him, and also trying to keep him hidden. Sehun could have left him in the Square, or could have left him to disappear without giving him a piece of this realm so that he could remain. So he decided to follow his instructions, only hoping that it would eventually lead him back home.

Even if going back home meant returning to a cheating ex boyfriend, and equally untrustworthy former best friend.

“I’m coming!” Sehun yelled, brow furrowing before he frowned and tried to tell Jongin that everything would be fine and would work itself out in due time.

In the next minute or so, Sehun got up from his hiding place in the bushes and told Jongin to take the steps down and do as he had just been told, or else someone would find him and report him to Yubaba – which would not be a pretty sight.

Following Sehun’s instruction, Jongin snuck along the side, watching Sehun go as well, and the spirits within the bathhouse calm down in his presence. Sehun had to be someone high up or powerful for them to freak out, and then calm that much upon his arrival. Jongin’s wasn’t sure if being protected by someone high up would be a good or a bad thing, but he followed the instruction hoping that it would lead him somewhere remotely safe for the next three days, or for however long it would take for him to return to his own realm.

Jongin wondered if time passed different in his own realm than it did here. Would three days be the same back home, or would it be three months that he had suddenly disappeared for?

He supposed if he disappeared for three months, Kris and Baekhyun would just carry on as they had in his bedroom – not caring then to clean up their mess, as Jongin had taking the remaining mess away with him when he had disappeared in the middle of the forest. He wondered if any of them had bothered to come looking for him at all.

But his mind would become a toxic nightmare if he continued on like that, so he left it behind him as he descended the steep steps, choosing to be very careful in his foot placement.

Until, that is, he went sliding down the steps, a scream falling from his lips as he rushed down the stairs at a break-heart speed. He could see himself colliding with the wall before him, and only hoped that he didn’t break himself or anything else if he landed face first at the little edge down below.

Coming to a stop, he was thankful that he caught himself before going head first into that little outcropping of a ledge, a window open above him and a spirit taking a drag from a pipe, with no apparent curiosity in his direction, or any indication that he had heard Jongin’s shrill cry upon descending from the steps above. He slinked away, around the corner before continuing until he found the boiler room entrance, tugging the door open to slip inside.

While inside, Jongin found himself being extra careful not to touch anything, not wanting to burn himself in the process. But he shouldn’t have had to worry about his side, and more what was below him as he heard a small cry and a rock – coal it looked like – trying to wave around at him, as if telling him not to step there. Jongin took a step back and away before he saw several pieces of coal just floating a few centimeters off the ground, seemingly all going towards the same location - the blazing fire across the room that lit the warm water in the baths above.

It was an interesting system, and he had a feeling there was magic involved. Especially as he looked closer to see that not only were there pieces of coal floating there, but that they weren’t floating at all, and instead were on the backs of tiny little black dots with eyes, almost close enough to specs of dust that this had to be a dream or magic.

He was going to guess it was magic. He was already in the spirit realm, so it couldn’t be that far fetched, could it?

At the far end of the room there was a man sitting there with plates stacked around him, remnants of food discarded and left for days it seemed. Messy and disorganized, but reaching this way and that with his many arms as he stirred a pot before him, strings stretching down before his face. He tugged on one of them before it shot back up and disappeared through the endless ceiling above. Jongin was sure this was the boiler man Sehun had been talking about, but he wasn’t sure what to call the man.

“Uh, hello?” Jongin started, trying to call out to grab the man’s attention. But either he was going to sit there and ignore Jongin, or he simply didn’t hear him over the crackle of the fire. Jongin tried calling for him again, this time taking a step around the dust specs carrying coal, hoping they didn’t trip him up or cause an issue in the meantime. Some of them seemed to stop to watch him pass, while others hummed angrily about him getting in their way. He apologized to a few, but still yelled louder for the boiler man to hear him.

Jongin tried a few more times, this time asking outright for a job.

“Hey! Sehun said I could go down here and ask for a job. I need work!” he shouted again and again until the man looked back at him and scowled a bit.

“Stop your yelling human!” he said back, a bit disgruntled. “I don’t offer jobs down here, the only one that hands out the jobs is Yubaba, so you have to see her if you want a job.” The boiler man returned then to his work and ignored Jongin for several more minutes until he noticed Jongin still standing there behind him, not having moved even after he said what he did. The boiler man scowled and crossed two of his six arms, the others continuing to do the necessary work. “You really won’t quit will you? Why do you want a job here anyway? It’s going to be hard work human, do you really think you can handle it all?”

Jongin, at that moment, wondered truly if he could handle it. Everyone was telling him that it was going to be hard and that made him want to steer clear of anyone and everything having to do with this place, but he was also going to try to be realistic, and knew that he could not return home if he did not find a place to stay, work, and eat in the meantime. Sehun had promised to return him home, but he couldn’t very well do that right now.

He shook his head, “I can handle it, I promise.” And he must have sounded either pathetic or convincing enough that the boiler man sighed slowly and dug in his pile of a mess to find something. What he came up with confused Jongin.

“Here.” He said, one of his long arms reaching towards Jongin to hand him the necklace dangling between his long fingers. He pushed it towards Jongin before he actually took the piece and slipped it over his neck, looking down at the pendant there and wondering what it did. “You can wear that to mask your scent. If you walk past, no one will be able to sense you. There are a few good spirits upstairs, but you must be careful of those that would harm you. There’s a spirit that lurks outside that doesn’t belong here, you mustn’t let him in.” Jongin nodded, trying to understand before the boiler man continued, “Go up to the fifth floor, once there, go to the second elevator and continue to the eleventh floor where you will find Yubaba. She will know you are there when you get off, with or without the pendant. But keep it on human, she will be able to sense it on you, but it’ll keep you safe.”

Jongin nodded, trying to take all this information in at a time before the boiler man actually smiled and nodded towards the small door on the side, telling him to go through and find the nearest staircase which would lead him up two flights to the next elevator.

Making his way over, the boiler man waved four of his six arms in goodbye, “Good luck!” he said.

 

Jongin did as the boiler man had stated, going up the stairs and trying not to get knocked over by everyone rushing around. He clutched the pendant at his neck close, hoping that the closer he held it, the more of its protection would seep into his skin. He passed by, getting on the third floor before he was able to find the elevator and being quick to pull the lever down, hoping that it would go up. When it did, he clung close to the golden rail and prayed he would make it to the eleventh floor and after without being stopped.

But when he got off at the fifth floor and started making his way towards the elevator, he found that a spirit was following after him.

It was massive, but did not look like it would do him harm. It passed by everyone with large steps, body shaking the small bridge that connected each parts of the level floor. Jongin tried not to glance behind him, wondering if this was one of the nice or malevolent spirits. The boiler man had not told him which ones to trust, and which ones to stay far away from. Only the one that lurked outside…

The spirit continued to follow him, and right as he stepped in front of the elevator, waiting for it to stop at this floor, he heard someone ask, “Does anyone else smell a human?”

Jongin panicked, clutching tight to that pendant as if his life depended on it. If only the elevator would arise quicker, he could get out of there and up to Yubaba. Sehun had told him to stay far away from her, but now he had the pendant that the boiler man had given him, and he seemed kind and safe enough. After all, Sehun wouldn’t have given Jongin over to him if he couldn’t be trusted.

The spirit came up behind him then, masking him from the other spirit that was yelling to everyone else that there was a human nearby. As the boiler man had promised, none of them could actually see him – except for it seemed, the large spirit standing behind him. He could see the spirit’s eyes glowering down on him, but it didn’t look like anything negative or predatory.

When the elevator got there, Jongin stepped in and the spirit stepped in after him, masking his body with his own so that his presence and scent disappeared from the floor. The spirits and people outside the elevator were still looking for him, but then the elevator closed and the spirit waited.

Jongin glanced up and over, wondering if he was going to push the lever, so he squeezed past and pushed down, going up.

The elevator stopped, doors opening on the eighth floor with no one waiting. The spirit glanced back down at him, only to step out of the elevator, glance around and step back inside. This time, the spirit pressed down on the lever and the box went back up again, doors closing before them.

He wasn’t sure why this spirit was helping him, or even where the spirit was heading, but he would be ever thankful that the spirit had decided to help him instead of out him.

The eleventh floor opened up to them in luxury, floors carpeted and walls decked in paintings and tapestries. Jongin just stared before the spirit got out of the elevator, large arm gesturing for Jongin to join him outside the elevator. He seemed to move in a way that suggested Jongin to follow the direction in which he pointed, so he did after bowing to the spirit and thanking him.

The spirit did not move but to go back inside the elevator, but Jongin could have sworn he winked at him.

No more than a minute inside the eleventh floor, and suddenly there was a voice calling to him, a condescending voice that almost sounded like a grandmother – one of the kind that hated your guts for something either you did as a young child, or for something that your parents did when they were children.

“Well are you going to just stand there?” the shrill voice called – and then Jongin was flying through doors and rooms, before coming to a stop and falling fast to the ground, a fire crackling behind him.

Before he knew it, some unimaginable force was standing him up, now facing the person that the shrill voice belonged to. Just like that bird in the sky, the woman’s head looked exactly the same as it had on the bird’s body. Grey-silver hair and a face full of wrinkles, Jongin had to believe with no doubt that this was the witch everyone seemed weary of – especially Sehun.

The woman spoke again, “Human, why are you here in my bathhouse? No one invited you inside.”

Jongin took a deep breath before spouting his spiel – begging for a job, telling the witch that he would be hardworking, and that he knew he was only a human, but that he would prove his worth when the witch gave him a job, only asking for her to give him a chance.

The witch growled out a reply, telling him to shut his mouth before she shut it for him. But Jongin would not let that stop him, still begging for a job even as she told him to shut up.

“Please! I promise that I’ll be a hard worker, I just need a job!”

But before he could say anything else, she screamed over him, magic washing over him before his lips had been sealed shut and she was racing over to him, floating on the tension in the air and pointing in his face with her jewel-encrusted fingers, rings dangling from them and glittering every which way. His eyes bulged even as he tried to speak again, unable to because of her magic.

“You be quiet! You want to work here? You better learn some respect!” she scowled at him before moving him to a sitting position on the floor, basically bowing before her, “If you really want to work here, you have to sign a contract with me. I own you and all that you are, but you’ll be able to work here, is that good enough?”

Jongin hesitated, not wanting that to come in the way of him returning home. The witch had magic, and Sehun had warned him against doing anything to anger the witch or get anywhere close to her. He still wore the pendant at his neck, and as he nodded he hoped it would protect him from whatever contract she would strike up with him – hoping that Sehun, too, would help to make the contract null and void.

There had to be some sort of fine print or get-our-of-jail-free type of deal with the contract that Sehun could help him with.

Jongin felt his soul jump forward as the witch grinned and snapped her fingers, the hold on his tongue loosening so that he could speak up again. With the snap of her fingers, a paper contract appeared before the two of them, an ink well and quick showing up as well for him to sign the contract. The letters on the paper were concise and clear – his name. That is, until they molded into something new, changing the characters altogether until they read something completely different.

Kai.

“This will be your new name. Your pretty name, Kim Jongin – that now belongs to me. You will be known as Kai until you find some way to release yourself from my contract.” But the woman let out a shrill laugh and rolled her eyes after she had thrown her head back in wicked delight, “Though I highly doubt you’ll be able to release yourself anytime soon. Now sign.”

And with only a moment’s hesitation, he did, edging forward to take up the magic quill and ink to sign the contract along the dotted line, the characters on the page forming and changing into an actual contract as he finished signing his name. It was probably not wise to sign it without first knowing what he was agreeing to, but he had to believe that it wasn’t that bad – or that it wouldn’t be that bad if Sehun also worked for her.

The boy that had saved him from those shadow spirits, and who had promised to return him to his own realm when the time was right.

Jongin hoped that would be soon.

The witch snapped her fingers once more, and the back doors opened again, shuttering and gusting with the wind outside, enough to make Jongin’s skin run chill down to the bone. No more than a second later, a silver-blue _thing_ came rushing into the room, landing on the other half of the room half concealed in darkness, before Jongin recognized the beast and wanted to scream.

It was the same beast from the Spirit Square that had been looking down on him like Jongin was his next meal. Maybe that was because Yubaba had been looking for him – maybe it was because this whole thing was a scheme.

And then, the dragon changed forms, something like white rose petals cascading down beautifully as he changed into something that looked human. Jongin blinked for one moment, only for his eyes to widen as he took in Sehun standing across from him, a cold expression adorning his face as if he didn’t even know who Jongin was. Had the witch changed what he looked like too? But looking down at himself, he had remained exactly the same.

It was Sehun who had changed.

“My bright one, this creature is yours to take care of now. I still have missions for you, so don’t get too wrapped up in him now. He’s to work hard, I won’t have you coddling him.” The witch said, voice sharp and shrill as she spoke, hands going out to touch Sehun’s shoulder as a possessive mother would. A chill ran up Jongin’s spine at the sight of it, but otherwise he did not say or do anything. The witch instructed Sehun to bring Jongin – who she now called Kai – to the quarters in which he would now be sleeping with all the other workers.

Sehun nodded, obeying his “master” before walking forward and beckoning for Jongin to follow after him, not saying a word.

When they got to the elevator, Jongin went to say something, but Sehun gave him a sharp look that reminded him of that cool dragon’s stare – like that of a predator. Sehun was like a completely different person now, and Jongin wasn’t completely sure which was the more accurate depiction of the spirit before him. Was he that cool, cold dragon, or was he the kind boy that had rescued a poor human from being turned into spirit food?

Either way, Sehun did not utter a word on the way down the elevator, not until they had reached the lowest level of the bathhouse and were completely alone. Only then did Sehun turn back to Jongin and smile – a soft little smile that had Jongin’s heart melting in his chest. This boy –this spirit – was turning him into a pile of mush. Even if at one point he seemed dangerous, untrustworthy. Jongin had to trust his gut, and it was telling him to trust Sehun no matter what the witch was like.

"I know I haven't been completely honest, but you have to trust me." Sehun murmured, glancing around every which way so as to make sure no one came by. "Yubaba signed a contract with you, took your name, but you mustn't forget it, or else she has you forever. It's why so many people have fallen to her will. They forget who they used to be, forget their own history and then are stuck because she's taken the memory of what they were. It's part of the reason why I'm stuck here. I signed a contract with her against my will, to protect someone I cared for, and now I can't even remember who that person is." Sehun cast his eyes down as he said the words, only making Jongin want to reach out to him and show him that he wasn't alone now. Jongin would have promised Sehun that he would help him remember his past, but he wasn't sure that he could.

The next half hour consisted of Sehun trying to tell Jongin of everything that went on inside the bathhouse - of the tasks he would be tasked with completing each day. Sehun had said it would be hard work, but after a few days, maybe even a week of it his muscles would remember the instruction and it would become second nature.

What scared Jongin the most was that, even after an hour or so of talking, Sehun didn’t promise to stay close by, didn’t promise to come to Jongin as a friend. It was disheartening, and even more so when Sehun actually told him that he couldn’t visit Jongin often – so as not to tip off Yubaba that there was anything between them.

However, when Sehun went to leave, nodding towards the cots and pile of comforters in the corner that would be Jongin’s lodgings for the next however long, he did lean forward to kiss Jongin’s forehead, his soft clean fragrance washing over Jongin in a calming way.

Sehun smelled fresh, clean, and Jongin could have compared the scent to a million different things. But the thing the dragon-spirit smelled most like in Jongin’s opinion was a mix of sunshine and rain. Sun showers where the rainbows gleamed in the distance, making everything beautiful and bright. He felt like leaning further into Sehun’s touch, but felt that perhaps that would be overstepping a boundary he was not supposed to cross.

Either way, it didn’t stop him from _wanting_ it.

Sehun said his goodbyes, promising him that it would not be that hard if he only put in the effort and tried to remain calm and resolute. Sehun promised that he would return Jongin back to his own realm when the time was right – when he was released from Yubaba’s contract, and when it was safe for him to return back to his own realm.

Jongin had a feeling it would be quite a while before that happened…

 

A week had passed, and though he was bitter about it, Jongin’s muscles did start to become accustom to the work load. He was charged with cleaning all of the baths – no matter how filthy they were. There were other spirits and other workers that tried to stay far from him, complaining of the human stench despite the fact that the food Jongin had been eating would have gotten rid of the “stench” by now. They complained that humans didn’t do anything right.

Jongin chose not to pay much attention to them, forgetting everything that they said, while also trying to remember that he had made a bargain with Yubaba – trying to remember what his name had been, where he had come from, and what had happened prior to him disappearing into the spirit realm. Despite being called Kai every single day, he could remember what his real name was – Kim Jongin.

But he couldn’t remember the events that had led up to him falling into the spirit realm. He knew today and what tomorrow would bring, but he could only remember half of the past.

Sehun had warned him.

More than just the temporary memory loss, but he wasn’t sure what he could do to break Yubaba’s contract. Could he just up and leave without doing anything? Or would the contract not even permit him to leave the realm unless it had been fulfilled? He wasn’t sure how to answer that question, not even when there was a soft banging on the screen doors, leading outside. Even on the lowest quarter level of the bathhouse, there was still a ring around the outside of the building, allowing for the workers to catch a breath of fresh air.

Jongin wasn’t sure what the banging was, but he soon found out as he opened the door, a rush of cold air hitting him like a ton of bricks, and then a strike of lightning hit the air as if it had come out of nowhere, suddenly having just arrived on a brewing storm. Jongin could see the strikes of the light in the sky as they arched across the dark-blue, and then came the pouring rain.

Things went very quickly then, as everyone rushed around. There was a guest coming in – whispers telling that it was an angry spirit that had brought on the oncoming storm, and that it would only pass if they were able to satisfy the customer to the full extent he desired. Jongin was rushed this way and that, his name called over and over again. Demands for him to hurry to ready the largest bath they had.

So he ran, only stopping once to look at an open screen door on the way, someone standing outside in the pouring rain and thunder, just standing there. It was another spirit, someone he thought he recognized, but was unsure on.

Rushing already, Jongin didn’t have enough time to speak much with the spirit.

“Come on, it’s raining outside! You don’t want to be out there when the storm hits, come inside.” And then no sooner than he had come, Jongin was racing back down the hall, seeing in his periphery the spirit stepping up into the bathhouse.

 

The voices spreading around the bathhouse of the filth the new guest had dragged in were certainly no joke. Jongin heard people murmuring, and Yubaba had even come down to see to the spirit, something up her sleeve. He didn’t understand any of it, but did as he was told – only knowing to tend to the spirit, make sure the water was warm and that the herbal wash was ready for when the guest had made it into the largest bathing room the bathhouse kept in their large facility.

Watching as the guest came into the room, Jongin couldn’t help but put his hand over his mouth and nose to stop from smelling the pungent odor coming from the spirit guest. Yubaba gave him a deadly look – telling everyone around to respect their guest or it would cost them their freedom.

But what more did he have to give? He had already basically signed over his soul to the crazy witch. What else was there?

The spirit was slow walking through the room, slow walking to the tub, and slow getting in as well. The stench emanated through the entire room, and Jongin had a feeling that the witch would need to cast a spell to cleanse it throughout the entirety of the bathhouse, too. It didn’t smell like it was going anywhere, anytime soon.

“Now, Kai!” the witch yelled for him, gesturing for him to pull the lever to release more water on the spirit, their body completely soaked now, but still just as wretched and disgusting as it had been when they had entered the large pool of water. Jongin did what he had been told, going quick to the lever at the other end of the wall, feet trudging through a foot of water that the spirit had already dispelled from the bath.

With a quick hand, he _pulled_ …

Water rained down from the ceiling in this large bucket, no end to it as it continually poured down over the spirit guest. As no surprise to everyone surrounding the spirit, perched on the walls and in the hallways, the spirit still remained a filthy mess until Jongin set a determined look upon his face and trudged forth despite everyone’s warnings.

Whispers and yelling behind him, “What is the human doing? Is he insane?” they asked of each other, and then of no one in particular. Maybe he was a little insane, but there was something wrong with the spirit and he wanted to know what it was.

Reaching into the steady stream of water until he found what he was looking for, he _tugged_ at the obscure object in the spirit’s side until it starting coming loose. Only the witch seemed to understand what he was doing, ordering everyone to stop lazing around and help him. Sooner than he realized, there were others tugging at his waist, pulling him back and assisting him in pulling out the object that had been precariously logged in the spirit’s side. Jongin tried his best not to let go of the object, as that would only force the others to all fall back as he went flying off the edge of the bath.

“Come on!” the witch’s shrill cry sounded through the room, everyone pulling and trying to help as much as they could. It was an effort as Jongin slowly ventured down from the tub’s lip, the objects in his hands coming out of the spirit’s side – it looked like a bicycle, followed by a horn of some sort, and then followed by rope. A multitude of objects came out of the spirit, caked in gunk and filth.

No sooner had he stepped off of the tub completely was there a breath of a sigh and then a sharp tug behind him, making all of those pulling go flying backwards, a capsule of air filling the room with that last breath of stench…

Before finally the filth had been upended from the spirit’s side.

There was half a minute where everyone just stared – just continued to stare as the spirit had disappeared, the filth that had originally been surrounding the spirit now done with both the water and the objects that had been lodged in their side. The air still reeked, but now none of the employees surrounding the bath knew what to do. Even the witch watched as the water from the bath started to bubble.

In the next second there was a wicked cry and a surge of laughter before Jongin felt the floors rumbling beneath him, the spirit surging up then, too. He was encapsulated in the roaring waters before the spirit bowed its head at him, going forward to place something in his hands, before the spirit grinned and laughed more – flying up into the sky and launching itself through the half open doors that the witch had ordered open…

In the next second, as soon as the spirit had left them, there were screams everywhere of gold in the floorboards, the witch even scrambling to take it from everyone. But then the witch had paused and silenced everyone with a scream.

“Everyone congratulate Kai!” the witch’s shrill scream demanded, and before he knew it, he was being lifted up and congratulated by the others all around him.

For a moment, he actually felt like he belonged there…

 

It was only a few days later that Jongin finally saw Sehun again, but not in the way he had thought he would see the dragon-spirit.

With the storm that had come in a few days ago with that water spirit, there were now more guests here than had been in quite some time – and more than that, there was also talk of a rich guest that come into the bathhouse with golden nuggets, giving them out to everyone that served him food and served him in general. Jongin had been exempt from such a thing, only because there were so many others looking forward to the gold that he didn’t really care for. So he had kept to himself in the lower parts of the bathhouse, where instead of sitting around and doing nothing, he glanced out the open windows while cleaning one of the employee baths. No one really put in as much effort here as they did with the other baths upstairs.

But as he was doing so, Jongin saw a figure emerge from the sky – a long, silver-blue body that was coming at the bathhouse fast. He looked around, but he was the only one standing there – the only one in the way.

Only when he looked much closer could he see that it was Sehun in his dragon form, horns bloody while his legs were cut up, as well. He looked completely and utterly horrible. As if someone had beat and cut him into slivers just for the fun of it. Jongin stepped aside as Sehun touched down in a rush, splaying across the wooden slats, tail hanging off the side and threatening to break off right there.

“Sehun, Sehun…” Jongin’s said over and over, running his hands over his body, and trying not to let the tears fall from their secure place in his eyes. He couldn’t hold the sob in the back of his throat though. Who would do this to him? Sehun was a kind spirit.

The dragon spirit before him growled out a low warning – warning for Jongin to stop touching him, to get far away from him, but Jongin refused and even scolded Sehun for his cold, “let me be” response.

“No.” he said finally, scowling right back at him as he went to drag Sehun up in his arms, avoiding his sharp teeth. Jongin had grown stronger over the last few weeks with the work he had been doing, but Sehun’s body still dragged after him as he tried to keep the dragon’s head from slipping to the ground, or from pulling on his neck too hard. Jongin managed to get both of them over to the pool of water before Sehun could complain or snap at him. It was clear that the dragon spirit was too exhausted and far too overcome by pain to do much else than let out that low growl of his.

In the next second, Jongin had submerged Sehun into the pool of herbal water, and then had taken the cloth by the side to dip it into the water and start to run it over the scales on Sehun’s side, trying to wash away the lingering blood on him. Looking into the dragon’s eyes, Jongin knew it hurt, but that Sehun was being strong as the cloth ran over his body.

He must have hit an even more sensitive spot because the dragon growled long and deep, head coming up from beneath the water and baring his fangs at Jongin in warning, once more.

Jongin shook his head though, teeth grating together as he said the words, “No! You’re hurt and I’m trying to help you. I know it hurts, but if I don’t get this blood off of you, I won’t be able to see the cuts and stop them from getting infected later on.” He gritted his teeth, jaw clenching tight, “Now listen to me and stay still.”

The dragon listened – though Jongin could tell that Sehun was aggravated and impatient about the whole process. He still wanted to ask why Sehun was like this, but wouldn’t be able to until he turned back into his other form. And he knew that couldn’t or wouldn’t happen if Sehun was still hurt. So he needed the dragon to feel and look a little better first.

A few hours passed, and though he could hear people shuffling upstairs, Jongin drowned out their rushing steps and voices. Still, with the few hours, Jongin was able to see the scales that had been hidden beneath the blood, and could apply the salve to the injuries as well, even going to far as to bandage one of Sehun’s legs with the cotton strips he had ripped up from the linen. He was sure no one would truly notice, or care. They were all far too busy upstairs.

After a while, Sehun got up from where he had been resting on the wooden floor, almost glaring at Jongin at his side, and like the last time Jongin had seen Sehun move from one form to another, he erupted into a million rose petals, glittering like little beams of light. Even when he was hurting, even when he was in pain and couldn’t stand up on his own, the spirit was still beautiful.

The Sehun that stood before him now, with a little effort, was bruised but no longer bloody as he had been before.

“Who did this to you?” Jongin finally asked.

A stretch of silence before Sehun’s voice broke the tension settling before both of them, “The witch. She bids me to do her dirty work, and this was like every other mission she has me go on. Except, she’s wanted to break me more and more over the past few months, and has finally started new techniques on how to do it. Sending me halfway across the spirit realm, only to be attached by others that she’s hired. Other witches that owe her favors. Sending curses after me so that I won’t return. She knows that you won’t be able to leave without my help. She wants to trap both of us.”

Jongin didn’t know what to say to that, but his blood boiled. The only human in the spirit realm and it seemed the witch wanted to keep him all to herself. But he wanted – no, needed – to go back home and he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“I promise that I’ll break both contracts with her, for both of our sakes. That way you can leave, too. You won’t be stuck here under her command.” Jongin promised.

Sehun smiled softly at him, but shook his head.

“There isn’t much you can do to break my contract with her. I have been here for years, and at one point she offered to break my contract if I remembered who and what I used to be, before being confined to just these two states of being.” He gestured down at his body, “But I couldn’t remember a single thing. I used to be a water spirit, but I can’t remember where, or when, or how it all came to be. I can’t place the images I see in my head, the memories are all scattered and don’t make sense.” But then Sehun looked up and with a wistful expression dawning on his face, he took a deep breath, “But I can remember you. I don’t know how, but I do.”

He wasn’t sure what to say to that, not when there was really nothing to say in the first place. Was he supposed to say thank you? But instead of coming up with a response, Jongin only nodded and leaned forward, unsure if this was a good or right thing to do, but doing it anyway.

Their lips touched and at first it was such a stiff, spur of the moment thing, until Sehun actually returned the gesture, coming closer to Jongin and even going so far as to set a bandaged hand against Jongin’s thigh.

A sound escaped his mouth then, pulling back with wide eyes, “You’re still hurt.”

Sehun shook his head, and though he was still hurt – both of them knew that was true – he still insisted.

“I want this. You’ve helped me, and I owe you a great deal for saving me. I would have bled out had you not been here.” But Jongin wasn’t sure if that warranted exactly what Sehun was suggesting. It wasn’t that he did not want it – he did – but … was it the right time for such a thing?

Jongin let Sehun kiss him again, this time easing both of them back against the wooden floor with Sehun pressing only some of his weight up against Jongin’s body.

Sehun pulled away this time, frowning, “Do you not want this, too?”

Jongin shook his head, but explained, “I do want this, I…want to know all of you, and all of what you are.” And then, with just half a breath, he rethought on it, letting a smile stretch his lips, “I want you.” And that had Sehun grinning wide, too.

“Good.” The dragon water spirit said at last, moving forward.

 

Jongin hadn’t been expecting the tenderness with lying with a spirit, nor had he expected to like it and crave it as much as he did. It was different than lying with anyone else, and though he had forgotten his name before, Jongin could remember what had caused him to slip through that temple into this world now.

His name was Kris, and he had cheated on him.

It did not make a difference that Jongin could remember the man’s name, not at least, where it concerned Sehun. Jongin had not had many lovers in his life – he had dated Kris for quite a while, but the fact still remained. That and Jongin found himself almost coming close to forgiving Kris, as well as Baekhyun, for going behind his back. He understood temptation, understood that he and Kris had not been all that close in the past few months. Jongin supposed they had both been kind of playing at a couple, going through the motions. So when they had lost that intimacy, Kris had gone to someone else.

Someone with more vibrancy.

Jongin could understand it all, and though he didn’t like it, he would forgive the both of them when returning to his own realm, returning back to that house. And though he would only return to pack his belongings and leave, he would still tell them he forgave them for all their misgivings, and that he understood why they did it.

A large crash from above them disrupted Jongin’s thoughts, Sehun even startled by the sound. The two got up quickly, though the sharp and quick movement had Sehun wincing in pain.

“Wait here.” Jongin said, pushing at Sehun’s shoulder even as he tried to get back up. “I’m sure it’s only one of the guests upstairs, but they might need my help. After all, I’ve taken the whole day off already.” And he sighed at that thought. He just wanted to return home at this point – but also wanted more time with Sehun if it were possible.

The dragon spirit only nodded, lying back against the wooden floor, elbow propping his head up as he watched Jongin go. He waved half-heartedly, voice making its way to Jongin as he fled upstairs.

“Come back to me.” Sehun said.

 

Upstairs was a mad house. There were people screaming, running around as if there was a monster chasing after them. Going past where everyone was running, Jongin could see that Yubaba was yelling and screaming as well – this time directly at her employees, telling them to get more food. Jongin could see traces of gold everywhere, but it was just left there as people ran and ran – trying to run from whatever fate was waiting for them past those doors.

When Jongin opened the doors, listening to the witch’s shrill cry, and then a rumbling sound as if it were coming from someone’s stomach, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

There really was a monster sitting there right in front of them.

Like the memory of before he passed through the temple, Jongin could remember the boiler man’s warning of a spirit that shouldn’t ever be let into the bathhouse, lest he cause destruction. He had tried so hard to remember everything, but then that contract, and almost forgetting his name, and still being called _Kai_ every day, he had forgotten the boiler man’s words.

He hadn’t realized who he had let into the bathhouse when that storm had come upon them a few days ago. And now there was a beast in their midst.

A beast that seemed to know his name – and which called out to him as soon as he laid eyes on him.

“Kai!” the spirit roared, everyone cowering behind doors and large platters of food for the spirit-beast. A no face spirit – that was what he was called, Jongin remembered. He couldn’t remember where he remembered it from, but that didn’t matter as the beast stepped closer and said his name again, “Kai! You’ve finally come to serve me, too!”

Before he could say anything, the witch looked over at him with a look meant to kill.

“Kai, how do you know our guest here?” she asked him, voice on the border of shrill and demanding. He wasn’t sure how to answer her question, but he didn’t need to as the beast answered the question for him.

The spirit chuckled, “Oh, he let me in! He let me into the bathhouse because it was raining out.” The spirit explained, hopping up and down on legs that he had not had when Jongin first saw him. There was something toxic about the bathhouse that had transformed him into a monster. The witch now eyed him up and down, steam coming from her ears, close to a meltdown. The spirit before both of them leaned forward, voice changing to sadistic, skin-crawling as he asked, “Why won’t you serve me, Jongin? I will give you anything you desire if you serve me.”

“No.” he said, arms crossing against his chest. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

Before the monster could even say anything, the witch was already basically on top of him, “You do as our paying guest says!” Yubaba demanded, though Jongin could see it in the witch’s eyes that she was a bit terrified just as everyone else was. It was clear that the monster spirit had already ruined much of the bathhouse, which would take a while to repair.

But there was a pause in the monster’s expression, before it quirked its head to the side, looking between the witch and Jongin, chuckling a response.

“And what if I say no? What if I stay here and consume everything?”

Without warning the monster surged forward, Jongin scrambling to his feet to get away from the beast, the spirit within the toxic body having gone insane. He wasn’t sure what he was doing at first, but he ran towards where Yubaba was, backing both of them into a closed room off the edge, making the monster spirit scream and yell, trying to turn around. Jongin kept running, the witch beside him.

“You get that… _thing_ out of here!” Yubaba demanded of him, to which he scowled and kept running, glancing back to see others diving out of the way of the spirit before they, too got eaten or destroyed in its wake.

He scoffed at her demand, “And what if I say no? What will you give me if I actually do it?” he asked of her.

The witch screamed in frustration, half a moment away from blasting him apart, but thinking better on it as they both heard the spirit yell his name as it ran after them. It was clear that he was the only one who would be able to get rid of the beast, only one able to either tame it or lead it safely away from the bathhouse.

Jongin had a feeling that getting away from the bathhouse was a good idea for him, too.

“What do you want?” the witch asked in that shrill voice of hers. Somehow, Jongin had gotten used to it over these last several weeks.

There was no time to think of what he wanted – and only one real thing coming to mind as he kept running.

“My contract. I want it to be null and void. And not only that, but I want you to release Sehun too, with his memories in tact or not, he’s coming with me when I leave this place.” Jongin turned around and tried to taunt the spirit, asking him if he could run any slower…

As the monster picked up its pace, Jongin wished he hadn’t said a word.

Panicked and running out of time before the beast destroyed her entire bathhouse, she said yes, finger snapping and producing his contract where he could clearly see his signature disappearing from the page, the characters returning as they had been – returning him of his name. And in the next second, too, she produced Sehun’s contract as well – on much older parchment with a much longer set of rules and demands than what she had contracted with Jongin. He watched as the parchment burned to fragments, null and void.

“There, you’re free. Now. Get. That. Thing. Out.” She demanded.

So he obeyed.

Calling for the monster to follow after him, he ran swiftly down the dozens of stairs, running down each flight with a vigor he couldn’t have had before the contract was binding him to this place. Now he knew he was free and that he could take Sehun with him. All the needed to do was get no face out of the bathhouse, and then everything would be fine.

That is, if Jongin was right about the bathhouse being a toxic place for the spirit.

In that moment, Jongin remembered the object in his pocket – the thing he had been unsure of, having received it from that benevolent water spirit only just last week in the bathhouse. The one that had come in with a storm and had left gold behind – making everyone scatter and go insane for the stones.

Taking it from his pocket, he screamed for the no face spirit.

“Here! If you’re so eager for me to serve you, eat this!” and just as he said it, the beast opened its mouth just in time, swallowing the strange circular object before pausing – a rumbling sounding from the beast’s stomach as it whispered.

“Oh no.” and bent over backwards to throw up whatever contents had been in its belly.

Jongin continued running, screaming for the no face spirit to follow after him. Which he did, after much of an effort. Following after Jongin while also leaking fluids and leaving behind a nasty trail of filth and garbage in his wake. People ran out of the way, covering their noses and screaming all the while Jongin tried his best to get to the lowest floor, hoping that if Sehun was ready – and free of his contract from Yubaba – he would be able to fly them out of there and to the temple that awaited them across from Spirit Square.

He only hoped that the temple was open for them to pass through.

 

“Sehun!” Jongin screamed, glancing behind him as he went slower. Whatever he had thrown into the spirit’s mouth had not only made him dispense all of the junk inside his body, but it had clearly slowed him down as well. He was now about twenty feet behind Jongin, still following and saying his name over and over, but it was clear that he was still determined to follow Jongin, a sickness still within him as he remained in the bathhouse.

No sooner had he called the dragon spirit’s name did the boy come out from where he had been, alert and concerned.

Jongin rushed to Sehun’s arms, not bothering with pleasantries, even as Sehun kissed his forehead, drawing his closer into his embrace and making sure there wasn’t a scratch on him. Sehun even glanced behind him – and that was when he saw the no face spirit coming after them, calling his contractual name over and over again.

“Kai!” he said, voice so weak now, “Kai!” the monster tried to roar.

Jongin touched a hand to Sehun’s cheek, “Can you fly? Can you fly us out of here?”

The river spirit paused, unsure how to answer that question until the no face spirit started getting closer and closer, now more like ten feet away. Jongin had no doubt that he would do little damage to the two of them in this weakened state, but he just wanted to poor thing out of the bathhouse, where he could be free from the toxins of greed in the air. It had effected all of them, he was sure, maybe even himself.

Because he was a little greedy for Sehun – though he had a feeling that emotion would remain even if they left the bathhouse.

“I can try, but Yubaba…”

“Forget her, your contract is voided now. I took care of it.” and before Sehun could ask how or why, Jongin pushed them towards the open windows and balcony, asking him to just fly.

Sehun grunted as he fell to the side of Jongin, transforming into that other version of himself – transforming into a beautiful dragon with gleaming horns and, though damaged, still beautifully elegant legs. Sehun urged Jongin to hop on, eyes intent on the horizon before them, and so Jongin did as he commanded, holding tight to the horns and mane at Sehun’s head – right before they took off into the sky.

From the air, Jongin could see so much. The clouds moved in soft waves around them, and from where they stayed afloat, he could see the hills and temple that awaited them on the other side of Spirit Square. Daylight left all the shadows to their hiding places, but Jongin had a feeling that even if they did come out in the daytime, he would no longer be afraid of them.

In the past several weeks, he had learned much by being here in the spirit realm, especially being confined to the bathhouse.

He knew he could return to the mortal realm and face what needed to be – and he knew he could say the things he needed to say. Even if it meant immediately getting on that ferry home and never returning to see Kris again.

Besides, Jongin had Sehun now, didn’t he?

Glancing behind him, Jongin could see the no face spirit fall from the ledge of the bathhouse into the water surrounding it. Falling and landing with a splash, Jongin continued to watch the spirit as it finally released the last of its toxic inner contents, not even a little surprised to see that it had been one of the other employees working at the bathhouse. Toxic indeed.

“Sehun, what do we do with the no face spirit now that he’s outside of the bathhouse? Should we return for him? He doesn’t look like a danger now.”

But the dragon spirit shook his head, continued flying and didn’t utter a word until they had touched down on that hill – the temple gleaming in the sunlight just as it had in the moonlight. Except, now it seemed much less dangerous and scary than it had been when Jongin first stumbled upon it. Still tempting, however, to run inside and look around. But Jongin also knew that he wouldn’t be staying inside very long, only wanting to run back onto the other side of that temple and return to his own world, with Sehun in tow.

Despite that thought though, Sehun remained in his current form. Jongin spoke up about it though, and just as he did he remembered something from a very long time ago. From the first night he had met Kris – but it wasn’t Kris who he was thinking of, it was Sehun.

“I remember you.” He started, “The night I met Kris, you were there too, not as you are now, but there was a river that I stumbled into, the current too fast for me to get out on my own. I had thought it was Kris who had saved me, had brought me to shore, but it wasn’t.” he could remember it clearly now, the voice in his head telling him that he was going to be safe, and that everything was going to be okay. He could remember the blue silver and the gleaming of the river even in the darkness, and had always wondered what it was. The river spirit had taken him to shore, and Kris had just so happened to be standing nearby as Jongin came ashore, on the verge of passing out. Kris hadn’t been the one to save him, but the one to call the police to bring an ambulance for him.

It was Sehun that had rescued him from drowning in the current.

Telling the story again, the dragon’s eyes widened before he erupted into a million silver blue petals – scattering to the soft wind flowing around them. Left in the dragon’s place was Sehun, eyes wet with what looked like tears, but grinning brightly and reaching for Jongin with both hands to pull him into a hug.

“I remember now. You fell into my river, but I couldn’t control the current that ran you down. I tried my best to bring you to shore, where there were others waiting and watching, those that could help you. I…” Sehun pulled away, jaw taut before he grinned wide once more, “I had always hoped you’d find your way back to my river. But it seems I’ve found my way back to you, instead.”

Sehun leaned into kiss Jongin, a deep and exalting kind of kiss that blew everything else out of the water. Jongin leaned into it, only wanting more and more and more.

Until Sehun broke it, tears streaming from both of their eyes now. This felt like a goodbye more than anything else.

“Come with me.” Jongin begged, hands not letting go of Sehun. “Come with me back to my realm, and stay with me there. You’re free from Yubaba, you have no duties left here. Return with me, be with me.” He begged.

But Sehun shook his head softly, “I have things I still need to do here. Things that I want to repay and things that still need to be settled between me and Yubaba. But don’t worry,” he said, hands coming up to touch Jongin’s face and run down his cheek softly, “We’ll see each other again soon. I promise.” And Sehun leaned in one last time to kiss Jongin, a kiss that felt everlasting – like a promise that couldn’t be broken.

“You better not break your promise.” He said, stepping back as he watched Sehun just stand there. The temple was opening as he made his way backwards, watching for Sehun to do or say something – to change his mind at the last minute.

“I won’t, but you must go. And don’t look back.” And as much as it hurt him to do it, Jongin did as Sehun asked, running to the temple below the hill and refusing to look back even though it pained him not to do so.

 

Jongin awoke with a pounding headache, bleary eyed and unsure of where he was. Looking up, he wasn’t on the hill, wasn’t with Sehun, wasn’t even outside. He had woken up in that luxury getaway cabin. But it wasn’t the shared room he used to have with Kris, it was Jongdae and Chanyeol’s room, the extra bunk now his.

“Hey, you scared us last night.” Someone said – Jongdae’s voice from above him. “We went searching all over the island for you, until we found you in the middle of the woods. I knew what happened last night upset you, but…you could have really been hurt, Jongin.”

He wasn’t sure what to say to that, wasn’t sure how to react even. He had forgiven Kris and Baekhyun while he was in the spirit realm, but now he actually had to face both of them.

“I-I’m fine.” He said to his friend eventually, sighing and rubbing at the sleep in his eyes.

Chanyeol chimed in, kicking up his legs and getting up from where he had been perched on his bed, “Either way, Kris decided to cut the vacation short after all of that, saying it wasn’t worth the trouble.” He rolled his eyes, “He hasn’t apologized yet, to any of us, but I’m not sure if that’s more because he was waiting for you to wake up, or if he was upset that Baekhyun took the early morning ferry back home.”

Surprised to hear that, Jongin shook his head. He wasn’t sure what exactly he would say to Kris, or to Baekhyun when the two eventually did see each other again. Maybe things could have gone differently, but there was no going back now. So Jongin got up from his bed, waving away both Jongdae and Chanyeol’s concerns, before heading upstairs to find Kris…

His ex-boyfriend was standing in the middle of the room, packing up all of his belongings with a quiet rage. He whipped things back and forth, frustrated beyond belief. But Jongin could see that he had left all of Jongin’s things alone, not even bothering to touch them. He noticed, too, that the clothes that had been previously strewn across the floor were out of the way, nowhere to be seen. He cleared his throat.

Kris turned, eyes wide before he realized who it was standing there at the door. Even when he saw and realized it was Jongin, he looked down at his feet and muttered a greeting.

“Jongin, I…” and he could tell that there some sort of an apology coming from Kris, but he didn’t need it. Sure, it would have been nice to get one – and it also would have been nice for Kris not to cheat on him, but that was in the past now. It was time to move on.

He didn’t say a word as he came into the room, silently packing up all of his belongings, too. Jongin wondered if Kris had watched Baekhyun do the same before he had left this morning too. Not only was Kris losing his boyfriend, but he was losing his lover, too. It had to hurt – but he deserved it a little bit. Even if Jongin had forgiven the man a little while ago.

Collecting his things in silence, and going towards the room’s still-open door, he turned with a sigh on his lips, no longer the type of person to sit there quietly as everything happened around him. But he also wasn’t the type that had run off into the woods on his own in anger. He was calmer now, and all he could think of was Sehun on the other side of that temple, promising to meet again sometime in the future.

“I forgive you.” Jongin said, “But it doesn’t change anything.” And with that, Jongin left towards the dock, determined to catch the next ferry before any of his friends could stop him.

 

It was months later that Jongin had resigned to his own things. When he had been with Kris, he had been living his life for someone else. It was time to live life for himself now – and it had been far too overdue.

Working now at a dance studio just around the corner from when he had first met Kris, he had imagined the first thing he would think about would be all the dates and adventures the two had gone on while in this city. Kris had moved, Baekhyun had moved. But Jongin remained in the same city – hoping that with time it wouldn’t remind him of what he had treasured in the past, but what he hoped for in the future.

Jongin watched the rush of that river every day from his window’s view – keeping in mind that promise that Sehun had made him. A promise that the two would see one another again. Jongin didn’t know when that would be, or even how it would happen.

But he looked out at that river and could have sworn he saw the dragon spirit swimming among the current.


End file.
